


Nobody Likes the Lightbringer

by gwenwifar



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M, Lightbringer angst, Luciferians, Seeing the light, yes just like that, yes we are real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 01:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21499738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwenwifar/pseuds/gwenwifar
Summary: After Chloe discovers the truth at the end of season 3. Every story about Lucifer she looks into portrays him as evil personified. But that's his father's church version of events. Chloe finds the Luciferians and learns about the other side of the story.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 20
Kudos: 201





	1. Not Delusional

So, the good news was that her partner wasn't delusional and he also wasn't lying to her. The bad news, of course, was that he was the actual devil. She was going to need to figure out how she felt about that.

On the one hand, she knew her partner. They had worked together for years and he'd had her back more times than she wanted to contemplate. Even when it shouldn't have really mattered to him, like when those cops had been rude to her at the bar. On the other hand, he was supposed to be evil incarnate, so who knows what reasons he might have had to do that?

Was he after her soul? That seemed like an incredibly arrogant thought. There were like a gazillion souls, what was so special about hers that merited years of his personal attention? No, that couldn't be it. And besides, if everything he'd told her was exactly true, he could have had her soul in Hell the first time she'd almost died around him. Her daughter had been in danger and if she'd died then without getting her daughter to safety, her guilt would have done the rest.

So, maybe it was the challenge. For some reason his mojo didn't affect her, and early on he kept going on about how fascinating it was. But it had been a while since he'd seemed especially interested in that, or in maneuvering his way into her pants, and Lucifer being Lucifer, he wasn't really into the long game. He was blunt, open, direct. He didn't play mind games. Which didn't sound at all devilish. She had no idea what to think.

When Chloe didn't know something, she did what detectives do. Research.

At first it seemed like the logical source was the church. They had the skinny on Lucifer. At least, they'd been on that case for millennia. She read all the relevant bible passages and read blog posts by various leaders of assorted Christian faiths. They all seemed pretty clear. Evil incarnate. The source and cause of all that is bad and abhorrent. But Ella didn't seem to agree, and Ella was the single kindest and purest person she could think of. The only _truly good_ adult person she knew. If Ella was willing to give Lucifer the benefit of the doubt, who was Chloe Decker not to?

Besides, if there was one thing her job had taught her, it was to dig under every rock. Some time ago, there had been a crime involving Satanists. She pulled up the file, smiling to herself despite the gravity of her current mission at the memory of Lucifer in a rage, telling them they were doing it all wrong as the Satanists tried to pretend worship him. She had the church's side of the story. God's side, she supposed. The god who was, by Lucifer's account, nothing short of an abusive father. So, maybe these Satanists could give her some insight, or independent verification, as it were, on Lucifer's side of the story.

Between the records on file and Google, she rounded up a few numbers to call, and was soon out to meet with one of the Satanists.

"I'm investigating a case with multiple references to Lucifer, possibly some kind of cult" she had explained on the phone. "To clarify, you're not a suspect, my interest in you is more as a sort of expert witness. I thought you might be able to help me determine what trail to follow."

But sitting across from the young man with her notes, it soon became apparent that there was a lot more to this than she expected. He kept shaking his head and correcting every other reference to Lucifer by changing it to Satan. It was frustrating more than helpful.

"So, let's clarify something. Are the references to Lucifer or to Satan? Or are there references to both?"

"Is that… important?" Thus far in her research she had treated the names as interchangeable.

"Very important. For starters, if there are references to both as if they are the same creature, this is a smoke screen. Any real devil worshiper would know Satan and Lucifer are not the same. If it's only one or the other, then it could be a worshiper. But do they worship Lucifer or Satan? Because either way, half of this stuff you're looking at is useless. If the references relevant to your crime are to Lucifer, none of this" he gestured vaguely towards one the piles he'd been making of her papers "is really relevant. All of this is about Satan."

"The references are definitely to Lucifer, and consistent." She made a note to dig deeper into this point.

But he had just been warming up and continued.

"Lucifer is often called Satan and confused with Satan, but that's because most people are just…" he took a deep breath, gestured as if to calm himself down and finished "lazy."

He had explained to her far too many things about Satan that she would never be able to remember. She made notes, but only for appearances. She really wasn't that interested in Satan, only in that he wasn't Lucifer. Her hands made notes, but her brain was weeding through her mental picture, plucking out Satan's reputation from among what she knew about Lucifer.

"Now, I'm a Satanist. I worship Satan. If you want to know more about Lucifer, you need to find a Luciferian." He tilted his head confidentially. "I have to warn you, it will be a lot harder than finding a Satanist. Luciferians tend to be independent and not at all interested in organizing into a church or even proper worship. But they are out there and they are the expert witness you need."

A few notes later, Chloe was headed back to her desk. She was grateful Lucifer was giving her space to process this. She couldn't have been this productive with him sitting near her desk, just looking at her. Waiting for her to make a decision. But part of her wanted to bounce her thoughts off him as she usually did. She'd find a Luciferian and see where that took her.

While Google didn't exactly help her locate a Luciferian, she did find useful information. She turned to a clean page on her notepad and scribbled across the top: Principles of Luciferianism.

The first thing she noticed was the importance of choice. Luciferians believe strongly in everyone's right to make their own choices freely, and in accepting the consequences of their choices, good or bad. They don't worship, in the usual sense, as that would essentially be giving up their choices to a higher being, submitting to someone else's will. They also don't proselytize or try to convert anyone, as that would be counter to the other person's freedom to follow whoever they chose. Luciferians choose to follow Lucifer as one chooses to follow the example of a teacher, not to blindly obey but to learn and grow so that they can find their own answers. That certainly resonated strongly with Lucifer. He hated manipulation and valued free will above everything else.

There was also a lot about believing in accepting all that it means to be human. Pleasure is not seen as sinful or bad. Indulgence is not a thing to avoid. Luciferians live in the moment and enjoy the good things in their life without guilt. They rejoice in what they have, celebrate their achievements, without putting on humility as a suit for someone else's sake. They draw pleasure from the things that are pleasurable because they can. Lucifer was nothing if not indulgent. With himself and with others. He enjoyed making people feel good as much as he enjoyed a good whisky or a good orgy. In fact, now that she thought about it, it wouldn't shock her to learn one of the things about a good orgy that made it pleasurable for him, was that he got to make others feel pleasure in them.

Of course, sometimes humans can be cruel. That was the first thought that occurred to her, and she was glad to see it was also addressed. Luciferians accept that cruelty is part of humanity, and a part that has its place. They believe others should be treated as they deserve to be, as indicated by how they treat you. Cruelty is neither more nor less desirable than kindness. It is possible for someone to deserve cruelty, and if someone has proven themselves worthy of it, Luciferians have no religious objections to dishing it out. Chloe thought back to moments when Lucifer had been kind, and to Julian's broken back. If anyone could be said to deserve cruelty, Julian was probably it. She sighed. You could probably make a case that locking someone up in a tiny cell for years on end was cruel, but that was part of her job, to do it to the people who had proved they deserved it. Sometimes the line between cruelty and justice was hard to find, but even though they both struggled to find it sometimes, she knew that line was as important to Lucifer as it was to her.

What caused her pause was what she found next. In her experience, beliefs of a religious nature focused primarily on pushing a narrative as definitely real and unchangeable, and a set of steps to achieve the goal of whatever passes for Heaven. But Luciferians were completely different. Skepticism is encouraged. Even believing in the literal existence of Lucifer is not necessary. The goal is enlightenment. The goal is to learn, to question, to evaluate and value all knowledge there is to be gained, wherever it comes from, and to use that knowledge to decide for yourself what is true. And more than that, to question your truth as you keep learning.

She continued to scribble furiously, to look for confirmation in other sources, and make notes on the side of her notes until she'd filled 4 pages. She had to admit, all of this sounded exactly like Lucifer. But she still had questions, and she still hadn't found a Luciferian.


	2. Finding Luciferians

"Hey, Ella? Do you know anything about Luciferians?"

"Luciferians? Like in Lucifer, Luciferians?"

"Yeah, not like our Lucifer, Bible Lucifer."

Ella shook her head, and Chloe showed her the notes she'd been taking.

"I know you said not our Lucifer, but this sounds exactly like our Lucifer. Maybe his parents were Luciferians and that's why they named him Lucifer? And they taught him these principles?" she suggested, the same smile on her face that she usually sported when she had just cracked the case wide open.

Chloe would have gladly accepted that explanation if she didn't know better. She nodded on her way back to her desk, with a mumbled maybe. If Ella didn't know about Luciferians, she wouldn't know where to find one.

She had taken to Google and her notes, looking for a path that could lead her to a Luciferian, and it was after her second coffee of the morning that she found it. She made a face as she put down the cup, missing her partner for the 5th time today. Coffee around here was much better when he brought it with him in the morning. He knew everybody's preference too. She looked around the office at all the cranky faces and imagined that station coffee probably had a lot to do with that. She needed to figure this out before they all decided she must have chased off Lucifer and started hating her again.

She read the paragraph again, to make sure she had it right. Apparently, at least historically, the Freemasons were rumored to have worshiped Lucifer as the true god. She had a feeling Freemasons would be a lot easier to find than Luciferians, and sure enough, she found there were dozens of Masonic Lodges in LA. A few calls later, she had found someone willing to talk to her.

It was a bit tricky at first. She met with one of the oldest members of the lodge, a retired astronomer with nothing better to do with his morning than entertain her questions. But even he was standoffish when she mentioned the rumored worship of Lucifer. He assured her so thoroughly that he could not speak for the masons of the past, but the masons of the present certainly didn't worship the devil that she started to wonder if he was, perhaps, protesting too much. Then she reminded herself that Luciferians didn't _worship_ at all. They followed.

"Okay. Can I ask you some questions anyway, since I'm here. You look like a man who might be have just enough… general knowledge, to be able to help me anyway." She tried to offer an invitation to the sort of discussion where they both pretended they were merely speculating. Sometimes, when someone wanted to talk but was bound by the need for secrecy, it was enough.

"I do have a lot of that. General knowledge that is. Suppose it can't hurt to hear your questions" he conceded.

"Would you say that Lucifer is evil?"

He chuckled benignly, shaking his head. "Lucifer is a complicated figure, if you think about it. He's not unique, you know. Most traditions have a Lucifer figure in there somewhere. You might have heard of the ancient Greek version. For them, it was Prometheus, although they were kinder to him."

"How so?"

"Well Prometheus betrayed his gods, much like Lucifer, and was also harshly punished with a sort of Hell of his own. Lucifer is the Lightbringer, Prometheus stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humans. But the Greeks were grateful and saw him as an example of self-sacrifice and nobility. After all, he disobeyed god to benefit humans, and they didn't forget that. They looked at Prometheus not as an evil traitor but as someone who was willing to do the right thing, to put the greater good above his own happiness and safety, above even his loyalty to his god. Prometheus made it possible for humans to evolve out of the Stone Age, basically."

"And is that what Lucifer did… as well?" she hesitated.

"Well, throw away everything you think you know about Lucifer and go back to the story of how he falls from grace, way back in Eden. What does Lucifer actually do?"

"He disobeys god, and rebels against him. Also gets Adam and Eve to disobey god, so they are banished from Eden and punished, leading to original sin and all sin." She summarized.

"Or you could say that Lucifer refused to be god's slave and fought for his right to make his own choices about what's right and wrong. And that he understood one thing that god didn't. Or at least, if god did understand it, he didn't want humans to understand."

Chloe raised an eyebrow at that. Lucifer had known something that god didn't? Wasn't god supposed to know everything?

"What was that?"

"He knew that you cannot have free will without knowledge." He leaned in her direction, clearly taking a special delight in spelling it out for her. "God said he gave humans free will, but he left them in ignorance. How can you choose freely when you don't know what options you have or what is likely to result from your choices? How can you make good choices when you don't know what good is or that actions have consequences?"

"You can't. Not freely." She mumbled, her mind filled with horror stories, real and imagined.

"But you're easier to manipulate when you don't know things and that was enough for god. He gave humans the _illusion_ of free will. Lucifer gave humans the real thing. And in doing so, he made it possible for humans to do more than just obey. He made it possible for humans to learn, and grow, and change themselves and the world. To be more than god's favorite pet."

"He made it possible for humans to evolve out of the garden." She rephrased. "I see what you mean. It's basically the same story, dressed a little differently. But then - why is Prometheus the hero, and Lucifer evil?"

"Our civilization's god is more controlling than the Greek pantheon ever was, I think that's part of it. And the Greeks didn't see their gods are perfect or infallible. But since you're asking me, I think it's simpler than that. When he gave humans the power and knowledge to make their own choices, they didn't always make good ones. That we sometimes choose to use his gifts of freedom and opportunity to sin is on us. That's the whole point of free will, isn't it? Make your choices, knowing there will be consequences, and accept the consequences. Sow, so that you can reap. What Lucifer couldn't know was that we'd want the freedom, but not the responsibility. And when god's men came along and blamed him for our choices, our section of humanity was only too happy to fall in line and pass the buck."


	3. Checking in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe checks in at the penthouse

Chloe had to admit she had been entirely unprepared for the sight that met her eyes when the elevator doors opened to let her into the penthouse.

She wasn't really sure what she was expecting. Probably not an orgy, given the last time they'd seen each other. Empty bottles were more or less a given. Coming up on the elevator she had visualized him in one of his fine suits, nursing a whiskey at the piano, maudlin but charming. She certainly not expected dejected in a torn suit and his devil face. She didn't expect that he wouldn't even turn to see who had come into his space. And, last but by no means least, she had not expected bloody wings. Literally.

For a second her mind flashed to the moment she had walked down the steps to find him bent over Cain. She'd been too busy freaking out over his face to notice it then, but now the image screamed at her. So many blood covered feathers. Where had they come from? The answer was literally staring her in the face. His wings.

She didn't have much to go on, never having seen his wings before. She remembered the replica made to be sold at auction when his wings were stolen years ago, though. They had been stunning. Nothing short of glorious. What had happened to his wings?

She made herself stay in the mental image of that crime scene, look at the evidence. He'd been shot. Judging by the blood spatter pattern on his wings, a number of times. Judging by the location of the bloody feathers on the floor, right in the middle of that small rotunda, just about where she had been standing when she's been shot and lost consciousness. She wasn't a forensic scientist, but this one wasn't complicated. They'd been standing there, a half dozen heavily armed men waiting for them, she'd been shot trying to stop Cain, and then…well, then she was somehow on the roof. As usual, her partner had made sure she was safe. And he'd obviously been shot doing it.

She hadn't seen any gunshot wounds on him at the time, but honestly, she'd not been able to see much beyond his face. And in any case his wings were retracted when she came down the steps. Even with Lucifer's accelerated healing, that much damage would take time. Had it really been only a few days? It felt as if it had been an eternity. When the elevator door started to close on her, she finally stepped out of it and approached him carefully.

"Nice of you to drop by, Detective." He tried to sound flippant but failed.

"How did you know it was me?" she wondered, not exactly asking, but she got an answer anyway.

"It hurts more."

That brought up a bunch of questions, but she'd save them for later.

"Lucifer, I need to take a look at your wings."

In all her gratitude that he was giving her space it never once crossed her mind that maybe he had been injured when he took on the bad guys all by himself. Or that you can't very well take injured wings to the local ER. She saw his wings move in a way that suggested he had shrugged his shoulders, so she moved closer to have a look. When he felt her body heat behind him he couldn't help glancing over his shoulder.

Chloe hated herself for it, but she couldn't help it. She winced, involuntarily hesitated at the sight of his burnt face. She'd known it was there, she'd seen it before, why did she have to be such an idiot about it? Was she afraid of an ugly face now? Chloe Decker, who'd faced more killers than she cared to count, behaving like a coward because she man who had bled for her more than once was exactly who he claimed to be? _Seriously?_

He had already turned his face away, mumbling an apology, his body sagging into what she could only describe as an entirely defeated pose. He raised his hands up to cover his face, no doubt to avoid scaring her again, because she had apparently turned into a ridiculous child when she stepped out of the elevator. Exasperated at herself, she stepped up the rest of the way to look at his wings.

The blood was dry, and most of the wounds seemed to have closed. There were more scars than she had anticipated, and some of the wounds were still open, where bullet fragments had complicated the healing. How many bullets had he taken? There must be over 100 wounds. And if he had taken all those bullets, how had she made it to the roof with just the one that hit her body armor? She added those to the list of questions she wanted to ask later.

For now, she started to work on getting the bullet fragments that were still in out of his wings so he could heal. Gently, trying not to do more damage than she'd already done, she asked:

"Does it hurt? Your face?"

She thought she heard a smirk, and then his voice, softer than she'd ever heard it.

"Not anymore. Not the way you mean, anyway."

"You tried to show it to me before, and you couldn't. Why can I see it now?"

She tried to sound professional, fall into detective mode, hoping he would fall into his partner role out of habit.

"It was gone before. Amenadiel thinks…" he hesitated, unsure of how much to say. She kept her eyes on his wings and waited.

"He thinks we control our appearance and our abilities, in a way. Not consciously, but through our feelings and our self-image. Before I…" she could hear the disbelief in his tone, the longing for that day. "I was feeling something real, something special. I felt, for the first time since I fell like maybe I could be worthy - " he stopped, not ready to go there. "Like I was more the monster everyone thinks I am. And since I didn't see myself as a monster, I couldn't look like one."

She found what seemed to be a bone fragment stuck in one wound and hoped with all her might it wasn't still attached, because she was going to have to yank if it didn't come off easily. She touched it gently, and felt him brace for pain, but he didn't say anything. She pulled and closed her eyes in relief when it popped right out into her hand without resistance.

"But you see yourself as a monster now?"

He hesitated, not wanting to say the words. It was written all over his face, after all.

She couldn't find any more fragments, but her ministrations had drawn fresh blood, so she gathered a towel and some water to clean the wounds.

"Do you?" She insisted, after a minute.

"Don't you?"

She'd give him credit for trying, but he couldn't quite keep the bitterness out of his voice. She couldn't blame him, really, after her earlier display.

"I don't know what I see yet, Lucifer. But I don't think it's a monster. Why do you?"

"Because - " she could feel the tension rising in him, see his effort to contain it, and hoped that what she was doing to his wings was somehow comforting to him. When she started to clean the dry blood off the feathers he stood up and moved to the window.

"Because no matter how hard I try to do the right thing, I always manage to ruin everything, sooner or later." He ran his hand across the back of his neck and looked at his reflection on the glass.

"We finally had a chance.. _I_ finally had a chance, with you. And what do I do?" He leaned into the glass.

"I kill a human. The one rule every angel had drummed into them from the very beginning of mankind. There are rules of many kinds, but this is THE rule that must never be broken. Angels don't kill humans. And I didn't just kill him. I enjoyed it. I watched him die and I made sure he'd go to Hell. Do you know, he wasn't going to go? He didn't feel any remorse. I couldn't stand it."

He changed his face back before he turned to face her.

"The bastard was going to Heaven, where I can't follow. Where Charlotte is and where you will go someday. I couldn't let it happen, so I made him feel guilty just as he was dying. He went to Hell and as much as I enjoyed watching him die, do you know what I enjoyed more? The knowledge that no part of him will ever be near you again, and that if I choose to, I can go to Hell and watch him suffer for what he did to you and Charlotte."

He turned his face away from her again, watched it turn red and sat down in defeat.

"Of course I see a monster. What else could I see?"

Chloe was stunned by the intensity of his feelings. He always seemed so… casual, lackadaisical even. She didn't know what to say. So she fell back on her original plan. The reason she'd come here in the first place.

"About that… I've been doing some research and I found something I think you need to see."

She had typed up her notes on the Luciferians, and she placed them on top of the piano now.

"Lucifer, meet the Luciferians. Please read what they have to say. Maybe even discuss it with Linda. I think you'll find some insight there. And I hope that they can help you see what they do."


	4. The Punisher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe thinks about punishment

A new case dropped, and she found herself debating whether she should call Lucifer. He would come, she knew that. Even if he was still hurt, hating himself, he would come. But he needed time to heal, and she would respect that. And she needed to get herself together and learn to deal with what she knew now. She had the two versions of events, the two sides of the story. Who did she believe? What did it all mean?

She was out tracking down witnesses when she got a call from Trixie's school. Apparently, her daughter had been caught trying to jump into an Uber when she should have been at recess. She started calling sitters on her way to the school, but nobody seemed to be available for another couple of hours. Chloe sighed. She supposed a quick trip to the park for a heart to heart about this behavior would probably bridge the gap.

She made Trixie apologize to her teacher and the principal, of course. She's asked them to detail what they would have had to do if Trixie had been successful in her escape. Her daughter clearly hadn't thought of that. As the principal explained all the steps, her daughter started shifting in her seat, staring at her hands. She grew pale and eventually, when he got to the part where they would have called Chloe to tell her than her baby was missing, her eyes started filling with tears. They fell when he mentioned calling the police to search for her and make sure she hadn't been kidnapped or worse.

Chloe watched her daughter through all this. Part of her wanted to tell the principal that their point had been made as soon as she saw her daughter pale. But she knew that her daughter needed to hear all of this. It would be uncomfortable now, but better for her in the long run.

She felt horrible when she added that the Uber driver would probably have gotten in trouble too, picking up an unaccompanied child like that.

As soon as they got in the car, she asked.

"Where were you going, Monkey?"

Her daughter didn't say anything, and Chloe supposed it didn't matter very much right now.

"Okay, we can talk about it later."

Since her daughter refused to share, they ended up not driving to the park after all, but instead heading straight home. They'd wait for the sitter there and discuss her punishment while they waited.

Trixie was doing the schoolwork she should have been doing at school, when the sitter arrived, and Chloe told the sitter what she was not allowed to do as she headed back out to work.

She hated this part of parenting. Seeing her daughter's guilt, watching her cry, it always ripped her heart open. Every instinct in her wanted to push all that away and make her daughter happy all the time. She had to remind herself, every time, that this was a very important part of parenting. This was course correction, it would make her daughter into a strong, capable and good person. A person who made good choices for herself, ethical choices she could be proud of. Soon enough her daughter would be an adult and there would be no cushion, no protection from the consequences of her actions. Her daughter would be ready. But right now… right now she was feeling guilty and sad, and even though Chloe knew it was not her own doing, it felt very much like it was her fault that her daughter was crying. She had after all just taken away her tablet.

She moved through traffic, reminding herself that by the time she got home tonight Trixie would have stopped crying, and they'd have some quality time together. By the time the weekend rolled around, the clouds would be gone, and Trixie wouldn't even try to talk her into letting her use the tablet. They'd get to the bottom of why she'd tried to escape school, probably while enjoying quality time at the beach, and all would be well.

Right now it was heavy on her shoulders. And she was leaving to go track down a killer and bring them to justice. More punishment. Yes, it was deserved. Yes, she knew that maintaining discipline kept everyone safer and happier. But it took a toll on her, beyond the physical exhaustion. It was exhausting to her soul to always be dealing with the ugly side of human nature. And the cases when justice wasn't perfect never quite left her. She felt, not guilty exactly, but responsible. She wished Lucifer was with her, distracting her with some ridiculously inappropriate comment.

She couldn't help smiling at the image. She could almost see him in the car, humor making his eyes sparkle. But that thought was followed by a different one. He loved making people feel good. And he'd been dropped into Hell to deal with the worst mankind had to offer and punish them. The vast majority of his life had been spent watching people suffer. _Making_ people suffer. Even if they deserved it, even if it served a good and useful purpose. Even then, she couldn't begin to imagine what it would do to the hedonist who was her partner to be surrounded by human suffering for millennia. Here she was, feeling guilty because Trixie had cried when Chloe took away her tablet. He had had to punish everyone, all the time. In Hell, all he ever did was punish. There was no quality time in between, no reassurance, no reconciliation. Just punishment after punishment. Was it any wonder he felt like a monster?

Suddenly she was angry. How dare he? How DARE he?

Of all the angels in Heaven, the one who made the stars, the one who made the music, the one who brought wonder and delight and beauty and pleasure into the world for all to enjoy… that's the angel you drop into the joyless, heartless pit of Hell? That's the one you surround with endless suffering? How DARE he? How evil do you have to be? What kind of maniac would do this to his child? It's one thing to discipline your son, and quite another to starve his soul for eternity.

She was mad enough to spit nails. Mad enough to wish god was in her reach. She would love to spit those nails into his heartless, evil face. _His face_.

She pulled into a parking spot at the precinct, laid her head on the steering wheel and made herself visualize Lucifer's devil face. She made herself look into his eyes, talk herself out of the involuntary shudder that ran through her. Made herself remember what she knew about the man behind those eyes.

He knew, of course. He told her quite matter-of-factly that he'd broken the one unbreakable rule by killing a human. He could probably guess what it would do to him. She didn't know much about Heaven, or how it worked, but she knew that no matter how safe it might be, or what assurances she might have that Trixie would never be anything but happy there, she would have done anything possible to make sure Malcolm would not ever be where Trixie was, especially if Chloe couldn't be there to protect her. At a visceral level, she knew she would have done the same. His instinct had taken over. Lucifer had done what he needed to do to protect his loved ones. Not just for today, but for eternity. Without giving his own soul a second thought.

Had anyone ever given his soul a single thought, never mind a second one? She felt the shudder ripple through her heart this time, made her mind's eye leave his beautiful eyes and look at the scars on his face. What had that so-called father of his done to his face? It looked like burn scars. The kind of marks someone might have if they had fallen into a literal lake of fire, she concluded.

She heard a tapping at her window and looked up to see a uni asking if she was okay.

She sighed, and nodded, then let herself out of the car and went back to work.

She was sitting at her desk when it hit her. When she'd visualized his face, made herself look into the red eyes and remembered who was under the scarred skin… his eyes had been… not changed back exactly. But different. Not terrifying anymore. Beautiful. They say the eyes are the window to the soul. This Lucifer was… scary, in a way. He'd been burnt, in more ways than one. He was scarred, and hurt, and struggling to function in her world. He had a lot to learn and was almost guaranteed to make mistakes and hurt her in the process.

But his soul was beautiful. He had learned so much in the time they'd worked together. And if there was one thing she'd learned about Lucifer through all of this, it was that he would protect her, no matter what it cost him. She remembered his hands covering his red face, his face changing back before he turned to face her. He would protect her even in his worst moment, even from himself.


	5. Doubting Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe talks to Amenadiel and learns things that raise some questions.

Chloe stopped at the penthouse on her way to talk to a witness. She'd just had lunch at the place they often stopped on busy days and on impulse she'd grabbed him a sandwich. She had to admit, at least to herself, that he probably had better food at home. He definitely could cook himself a better meal than this. But she took it anyway, hoping it would simply let Lucifer know he hadn't been forgotten.

She waited for the elevator doors to open, asking herself what she would say to him, but when they did, all she could really do was smile.

He had clearly showered, changed into clean clothes, and was sitting at the piano, the maudlin but charming picture she had expected before, if somewhat more maudlin than she had anticipated. He looked better, but still morose. There was no sign of his devil face, and she wondered if this was because he felt less monstrous, or because he could somehow feel her coming up in the lift.

She approached quietly, not wanting to disturb him as he played. When he finally stopped, she offered him the bag and announced:

"You look better. How do you feel?"

"Just dandy, Detective."

Apparently, he was in a mood. Keeping her focus on the mission, she tried again.

"I see. Let me take a look at your wings."

"Never before the second date, I'm afraid, and we haven't even had a first. But thank you for lunch."

Chloe took a deep breath, coaching herself to keep it cool. Maybe she could lighten things up with humor.

"Like you weren't parading naked right after we met. You getting shy on me? I've seen it before."

"Yes and look how that turned out."

Chloe wasn't sure what he meant, and she was tired of trying to figure it out. This time she used her mom voice.

"Alright, Lightbringer, that's enough. Like it or not, I'm going to check your injuries. Now produce the wings."

He raised his brow, not having heard this tone, or that name, from her before. But like humans everywhere, he recognized that this was not a tone to be trifled with, so he resigned himself to being inspected. A number of inappropriate comments came to mind but he couldn't quite bring himself to utter them.

The wings were finally unfurled and inspected. The healing was progressing nicely. Most of the injuries were hardly more than scars now, and the ones that were still healing were well on their way. There was still quite a bit of dry blood on the feathers, though. It was bound to become a problem, at least by getting itchy.

"There's still a lot of dry blood," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Yes, well, I can't exactly fit them in the shower." He grumped.

"Hang on, I'm going to get a soft cloth and clean this up."

It felt like it took hours to clean his feathers properly. He seemed mostly bored through the process, but she was fascinated at the way the light played on the feathers, and how when a feather was finally cleaned up it would suddenly take on a kind of glow. Almost absentmindedly, she started talking to him about nonsense in her most soothing tone as she worked. Eventually, she was done, and he seemed more at ease and relaxed.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly.

"Thank you. You can put them away now."

He did and turned to face her.

"Thank you, Detective. That feels… better."

"I hereby declare you fit for work as of tomorrow. If you want to get back to work, that is."

His eyes lit up, almost reluctantly.

"I would like that very much."

"Well then, I will expect you tomorrow. We've missed you. I've missed you."

He nodded, caught between understanding and fear that he was making too much of her words. She brushed her thumb across his hand, nodded back reassuringly, and went back to work.

It was talking to Amenadiel that got her doubting again. She'd realized suddenly that he was Lucifer's brother, and thus an angel, and maybe he could help her figure out to deal with what was left of her conflict in her feelings. It had not gone as she expected.

Amenadiel was a talker. As soon as she'd told him that she knew the truth, he was off, explaining. He'd meant to explain why he'd plotted against Lucifer, but by the time he was done she had learned a lot more. She'd learned Lucifer had made a deal with god to save her, she'd learned about Uriel, and more disturbingly, she'd learned that her birth had been a miracle. God had put her in Lucifer's path. What she hadn't learned was why.

So what did this mean? This opened all kinds of new possibilities.

Maybe her soul _was_ special. She flashed briefly to how many times she'd seen him described as a manipulator and deceiver. Maybe he was protecting her as a way to thumb his nose as his father. Maybe he meant to simply keep her along to show his father that he couldn't be manipulated that easily. Maybe his father's manipulation was working and that was why Lucifer had changed so much.

She thought about the day she had been poisoned. At the time she was too busy panicking about the nosebleed, but now that she thought about it, he had come in furious, asking her if she'd known. If she'd know this. Was he mad at her? Mad at his father? Either way, he had clearly been distraught at her predicament and she'd learned today that he had ultimately killed himself to save her. Again. And he had gone off and come back married to set her free of his father's expectations. She had not wanted to be free of him. She still didn't, as unsure as she was about a lot of things.

Maybe his father was manipulating her. Is that why she was immune to his mojo? So if god could manipulate her but Lucifer couldn't...? What purpose did that serve? She was really beginning to hate that abusive bastard.

As she did when she found herself confused by too much information, she slowed down and took a deep breath. What was she certain of? What did she know to be true? If she could find a bit of solid truth to guide her, she could find her way to an answer.

She knew that she was safe. Whatever his reasons might be, she had nothing to fear from Lucifer, and neither had Trixie. She knew a gaslighter when she saw one, and god showed all the signs. She knew that every instinct she had was telling her that Lucifer was the good guy. But her mind intruded. If he's such a good guy, why is everyone so afraid of him?

She countered that. Lucifer was usually the life of the party and almost everyone who spent any time with him liked him. Dan didn't, but there were reasons for that. But then those people didn't really know who he was, did they? The Luciferians knew him and they weren't afraid, she countered again. Back and forth, the debate went on in her mind. She found herself back at the office, even though she'd meant to go home.

Chloe went to her desk, sat looking at Lucifer's spot, imagining what tomorrow would look like when he came in. She hardly made it past everyone getting their favorite coffee when her mind got dragged back into the debate she was trying to avoid. It was Ella's voice that finally snapped her out of that.

"Still here?"

"Yeah, trying to work some stuff out."

Ella, ever eager to help, sat down.

"You look confused. Can I help?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to make sense of something, but there's too much information and two very different versions to the story."

Ella, imagining this was somehow related to her current case, nodded along.

"What do the facts tell you? What does the evidence show?"

"That's the thing," Chloe explained. "I can't really access those. All I have to go on is hearsay, and my best sources are a gaslighter and someone who I'm being told is manipulative and evil."

Ella thought about that and followed up with:

"Ok, but who's telling you they're manipulative and evil? You know that's gaslighting 101 right? Gaslighters always cover their tracks by discrediting the other guy."

"That's true, and I've considered it. But it's just that he's got so many people backing his story."

"Like independent verification people or friends whose views he potentially manipulated people?"

"Yeah, that. That's really the big problem. I have one guy with a credible but fantastical story and a million people backing the gaslighter's story, but all potentially unreliable."

"Sounds like this isn't one you can solve with logic, and you said there's no evidence to turn to. What is your gut telling you?"

"My gut is telling me to believe him, no matter how many people back the gaslighter. My gut is telling me he's being sincere and always has been. I just… can't quite get my brain to believe it."

Ella nodded as if she completely understood the issue now and with her most chipper smile said something completely unexpected.

"If you can't reason your way to a conclusion, then it's really a question of faith. As a scientist of faith, I bump across this question a lot. I'll share with you the best advice I ever got."

That got Chloe's attention.

"Have you ever watched the movie _Secondhand Lions_?"

When Chloe looked skeptical, Ella elaborated.

"Near the end there's a scene where one of the old men is talking to his nephew about what boys need to know about being men. It's a great scene, that has helped me through many questions like yours."

Chloe waited for more, curious now.

"He says to the boy that some of the things a man most needs to believe are things that may or may not be true. Things like people are basically good, good will triumph over evil, and true love never dies. He says that it doesn't ultimately matter if those things are true or not. A man should believe these things regardless because these things are worth believing in."

Ella gave her a moment to digest that, asking herself now if this wasn't about the case at all, but had something to do with Lucifer, his complicated family dynamics, and why he hadn't been around lately.

"Maybe instead of trying to prove to yourself that he's telling the truth you should try asking yourself if this guy is worth just believing in."

And Chloe was suddenly so lost in her memories that she didn't even notice when Ella left her alone.


	6. Nesting

His first day back had gone exactly as she would have expected. Everybody was thrilled to see him, and the coffee he brought with him. He flirted lightly with everybody who was open to flirting, found something to praise in those who needed praising and eventually worked his way over to her desk, where he avoided all paperwork and hinted at all kinds of inappropriate things. He spent some time listening to Ella as she explained something about the test she was running. He met the new Lieutenant, patiently ignored Dan's attitude, and generally made himself the charming distraction they were all familiar with, until it was time to really get to work.

Chloe filled him in on the case she was working on. She was fairly certain she'd found her killer. A man the vic worked with. Their coworkers reported that he'd been trying to start some sort of relationship, and after a few evasions, she'd told him she wasn't interested and wasn't going to be. She was waiting on some results from Ella to call for a warrant, and then they were going to bring the guy in. The results showed what they were expecting, the warrant came through, and before the day was over the killer was behind bars.

Lucifer had been… contained. As if he was down with the flu or keeping himself on a leash. His eyes had all the usual indignation and anger, but he stood back, let her set the tone, do what she had to do. More a bodyguard than a partner. She'd been grateful to have him there, but she couldn't deny she kinda missed having to hold him back. It was not unusual for a cop to be unsure and hesitant after a serious injury, but routine usually solved the problem. All in all, a successful first day back, and worth celebrating.

Lucifer began to suspect something was afoot when Chloe insisted it was time to head home, and further insisted that she would follow him, so she could check his wings one last time, and make sure he was himself again. When she insisted they pick up some food on the way home, and ordered a feast sufficient to feed twice as many people, he should have put it together. It wasn't until he saw her cat-that-swallowed-the-canary look as they were going up the elevator that he finally put it together, and before he could say anything about it, the doors opened.

She'd called Linda and Ella and they were waiting at the Penthouse with balloons and confetti. They'd have a proper party later in the week, the night before her day off. She'd have Dan take Trixie. They'd party at Lux until after everyone else was gone. Tonight was just a little bit of relaxation and joy after a long, somewhat awkward day. And after the others were gone, they'd finally talk. There was a lot they had to say to each other.

She started putting out the food, while Lucifer visibly relaxed and went to turn on some music. He trusted everyone here implicitly, and parties were easy. Even small ones. There had never been a party where Lucifer had felt awkward or unsure of what to do at any time. They were sitting on the floor around the coffee table within minutes, passing food around and cracking jokes. Occasionally, Lucifer's eyes wondered around the room, as if he was looking for something, until laughter drew his attention back. After catching him a few times, Ella couldn't contain her curiosity and had to ask.

"What do you keep looking for?"

"Nothing. Not looking for exactly, looking at."

When they all just looked at him as if they were waiting for the punchline, he elaborated.

"This place needs a proper table. This was all well and good when I was just sitting here alone, and it will do well enough for an impromptu party," they all nodded and raised their glasses at that word "but when Amenadiel and Maze are here, not to mention the urchin…"

He stopped, swallowed, realized what he was doing. He was planning for parties. Parties in his home, not down at Lux. Parties that included children, maybe, and more people than could fit around his little table, but nobody he didn't know and trust. Not sex parties. Not elaborate dates. Parties with maybe cakes and candles, and glorious homemade meals he would need help with. He looked slightly terrified for a moment, but Linda came to the rescue. She pointed towards the far wall and opined that if they rearranged that area, maybe moved the piano slightly, they could fit a table for 10 there, easily. And before he knew what was happening, they were all standing there, discussing how best to move things and where to put them. He'd better get involved in this discussion fast before they moved his treasured books out into the balcony.

He was discussing the relative merits of oak versus mahogany with Ella when Linda gave Chloe a private nod and announced she was going to mix them all a fresh round of fruity drinks. Chloe jumped up to help.

"Lucifer told me you know." Linda opened with.

Chloe supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that Lucifer's therapist knew, but she was, rather. She nodded, her hands laying out glasses, and going through the motions of preparing the drinks.

"You're handling it better than I did. This is good."

"I don't know. He had me worried for a sec when he just froze up and looked all terrified."

"He's nesting. Literally making room for the family he's building. That's big progress. But he's also afraid. His family history is – not helping. And even outside his family he's spent far too much time being feared and hated to settle into comfort and love easily. What if he invites us in deeper and we just run away screaming? What if he relaxes into feeling that you trust him again and then you don't let him see Trixie?"

"Yeah, he was telling me the other day that he's a monster." Chloe sighed and started shaking the mixer.

"I don't get it. I mean, I get some of it. I get why the bad guy would freak out in the interrogation room when he sees Lucifer's eyes. He doesn't know Lucifer. But the people who do know him. I don't get it."

Linda gave a nod, looking quickly over her shoulder to make sure their conversation was still private. When she turned to face Chloe again she was in full therapist mode.

"He's the light bringer. It's really that easy." She warmed up to the topic, leaned in, the pineapple she'd been cutting forgotten on the bar. "In a way, he threatens everybody simply by existing. The most common defense mechanisms are denial and self-deception. We take shelter in the darkness within ourselves, Chloe. And when your feelings of safety and self-worth rely on the darkness, the light bringer is the most dangerous of all creatures."

She went back to cutting, opening little paper umbrellas, and driving cherries through the handle.

"We can't hide in the darkness in the long run, of course. It's not healthy and it doesn't actually remove the threat we're so afraid of. We need to face the problem, as it really is, and deal with it to remove it. We need light for that. Truth. But the thing about truth is, it will set you free, but it hurts. That's why we metaphorically kill the messenger, why snitches get stitches and so on."

Chloe poured the drinks, and Linda carefully placed her little fruity umbrellas in the glasses, giving Chloe one last significant glance.

"When you feel safe in the dark, the Lightbringer is the enemy, even if he's here to set you free."

They passed the drinks around and ended up back at the table, laughing and eating some more. Chloe's mind was a hundred miles away, though, remembering when nobody wanted to work with her because she was trying to uncover the truth about Malcolm. She'd been the light bringer of that story, she supposed. She had a taste of what Linda was describing and she didn't like it. Even now, she didn't feel on equal footing with everyone else. Even Dan, despite everything he had done, was more accepted than she was. Ultimately, it was a price she was willing to pay for the truth. And so was he. She looked at Lucifer, scooted a bit closer, trying to summon a warm smile to replace the gloom trying to intrude. It was easy, in the end. He was grinning that devilish grin she had missed and when his eyes met hers, they were warm and trusting.

They turned away at the same time when they heard a throat being cleared and Linda made a big show of yawning.

"Look at the time," she mused. Chloe did, and it was barely 8:30, but she wasn't about to stop Linda and Ella from leaving them alone. Ella, despite her sudden bout of exhaustion, leaned in to ask if she needed someone to watch Trixie, and then they were gone.


	7. Real Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, an important conversation

They shared an amused glance as Ella and Linda disappeared faster than the urchin's chocolate cake. Almost immediately after the elevator doors closed, the mood changed. Lucifer tried to keep the party mood going, but his body language gave him away. He was anxious. Now that the others were gone, they were going to talk, and he wasn't sure he was ready to hear what she had to say.

He started gathering dishes and glasses, putting things away, his smile artificially casual, rambling on about this table he was going to buy, maybe. She helped clear the table, then sat at the bar and watched him fuss. When he finally came to pour her a drink, she reached out and stopped his hand, then drew him around and headed to the balcony. This would be a good place to start.

She chose her words carefully.

"We've been putting off this conversation since I got poisoned, but it's time to get to it, don't you think?"

He smirked a little.

"A lot has happened since then. Candy, Pierce…" he gestured vaguely towards his head.

"True enough, but I suspect some of it wouldn't have happened at all if we had gotten around to that conversation. At least, the way things were going, I'm pretty sure Pierce wouldn't have happened. I'm not so sure Candy would have either."

He seemed to ponder that carefully.

"Lucifer, can we make a deal?"

She faced him head on, waited until he looked at her to continue.

"This can't be real, _really real_ , if we're hiding from each other. So, how about we make a deal that you don't hide and I don't run away screaming? And you know, vice versa."

She could see him soften, reach for her hand.

"That hardly seems fair. I would never run away from you. And I can't blame you if you want to run away from some of what I've been hiding."

He started to turn away, looking out over the city, but she kept his hand and stepped just a little closer.

"I can't promise nothing will scare me, Lucifer. But I know that I'll always be safe with you, and I can promise that whatever it is, I can deal with it at least long enough to hear you out and try to work through it. Besides, you underestimate me. I can be scary."

Lucifer's eyes stayed focused on the view, so she tugged at his hand and prodded a little.

"Really. Just try me."

In an instant the full impact of his devil face was staring her in the face. She started a little, mostly from the sudden change, and he started to turn back towards the city, but she reached up, cupped his face, turned it to face her again. Reminded herself to look into his eyes.

"See? Still here." Instinctively, she brushed her thumb against his cheekbone, and he leaned into her hand, his eyes growing darker, then closing.

"Lake of fire?" she asked, softly.

He nodded into her hand slightly.

Keeping her hand on his face, she closed her own eyes for a second, getting a grip on her desire to throttle a divinity. He felt the shift in her mood and opened his eyes, stood up straight again to face her, his face shifting back.

"I am not now, nor will I ever again be afraid of you. Of what you have to share, maybe. But not of you. I see you. I believe you. I believe _in_ you." she spelled it out as clearly as she knew how.

"Why?"

"Because you are worth believing in."

With a deep breath, he nodded.

"Alright, if that's what you want, we have a deal."

They were on the couch an hour later, Lucifer's head in her lap, as he listened to her talk. They'd started out facing each other, but then Chloe had gone to get a glass of water and had sat next to him instead when she returned. Pretty soon they were leaning into each other, and then somehow he'd slipped and when he started to right himself, she silently encouraged him to rest his head on her lap. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was a notch drunk. He hadn't had that much to drink, by his usual standards, but he was positively giddy at times.

Thus far they had discussed Pierce, Candy, the Luciferians, and basically everything that had gone wrong between them since that last kiss. They were getting pretty good at clearing up misunderstandings between them with honesty. There was some hesitation when Chloe shared what Amenadiel had told her and asked Lucifer about Uriel and Charlotte. She'd sensed his reaction and decided those questions could wait. She didn't need every answer tonight and in any case they still hadn't made their way back to the most important topic they needed to discuss.

She stroked his hair ever so gently, letting her feelings shine in her eyes and she knew exactly when he saw them because he couldn't look away. A smug little smile snuck into the corner of her mouth and she leaned down to plant a soft kiss right between his incredulous eyes.

"I love you, Lightbringer," she heard herself say, softly, through her smile.

He sat up, this time. Surely he had hallucinated that. He had nodded off for a second and dreamed it.

"See, I didn't hide, and now this is the part where you don't run away, no matter how scared it makes you," she explained.

He turned in his seat to face her, putting a little distance between them so he could think and avoid making an utter fool of himself.

"Why does it scare you so much?" she asked.

"I'm the devil. _Nobody_ loves me, not really."

"That's not true. Amenadiel loves you. Your mother loves you."

"Not so much that they didn't both plot to betray me," he pointed out.

"Maze loves you."

"She has no soul to love with," he countered. "She's protective because she was made to be my protector, but even that didn't keep her from working with Pierce to send me back to Hell."

" _I_ love you." She said, more emphatically. Counter that, Lightbringer.

"But you're so… good. So incredibly good, to the deepest recesses of your soul. And I'm – not." His hands seemed to have become endlessly fascinating, the way he was looking into them as if he could materialize some goodness he could take into himself if only he stared hard enough.

"Lucifer, look at me."

She wanted him to see that she meant every word.

"You are not evil. You are not some monster who will inevitably destroy everything he touches."

She reached for his hands, wanting him to feel it through her skin.

"You punish evil. And that's not so very different from what we do here. It serves a purpose. It keeps people safer. It teaches important lessons. Am I evil because I punish Trixie sometimes? Or because I bring murderers in to be punished? And even if the souls arriving in Hell are beyond learning, and beyond hurting anyone else, it's not evil to pursue justice for what they've already done. It acknowledges the importance of those they hurt while they had the chance, recognizes the value of what was taken from them. Accountability is not wrong."

"But then…"

Even the most eloquent of men finds himself speechless, sometimes, he mused, trying to find the words to ask the question. It might be easier if he was clear on what the question was exactly. As it was, he couldn't find them, not in any language, and so he took a deep breath and chocked out the only word he could find.

"Why?"

His eyes were brimming with the weight of millennia of gaslighting, misdirection and misunderstandings. Haunted by this single question. How many times had he asked it?

"Because you are the Lightbringer. This world and its people dwell in darkness, Lucifer, and like it there. You bring truth, honesty, light in all that it means for better or worse, and we soak up the good bits and hide from the rest. There cannot be true safety in the darkness, but to humans what _is_ is often less important than whatever illusions help us sleep at night. Those who love the darkness, fear the light. And they resent the light bringer, because it's easier than giving up the dream."

She saw the change in his eyes, the way his focus shifted into himself. He was thinking about it, looking at his world through that lens. She eased his head down onto her lap again, and he went without resistance. Gently, she laid her arm across his chest, the tips of her fingers playing with the tips of his hair. She wasn't sure who fell asleep first, but she said it again, just before she dozed off.

"I love you, Lightbringer."


	8. After party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celebrating Lucifer's recovery at Lux
> 
> The song is "Long After Tonight is All Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe, and if you haven't heard it, you really should.

On the surface it looked like just another Friday night at Lux. The music was loud, the drinks were flowing, and Lucifer was in the middle of all of it, the life of the party. Chloe knew it was more than that. In her soul she knew that before she left here in the morning things were going to happen. Important things. Amenadiel and Maze had made it back and were helping at the bar. Linda and Ella had joined the dancing. Chloe found a seat and enjoyed the view. She'd missed that look in Lucifer's eyes. He was back, or so it seemed.

She was amused at first, watching him dodge one Britney after another, but when he eventually sent her a glance that clearly called for help, she mounted a rescue. Leaving her drink behind, she pushed her way through the crowd to where Lucifer and the current Britney were awkwardly standing, Lucifer trying to extricate himself politely while she pushed ever closer.

Subtlety was clearly lost on her, so Chloe didn't bother with it. Unceremoniously, she reached between them, spun Lucifer around and pulled him in for a kiss. Not just any kiss. The kiss she'd been wanting to get lost in since that dream, way too long ago. She felt his arms close around her, pull her body closer and then there was nothing for either one of them but the kiss.

When they finally came up for air, the spotlight was squarely on them. Britney was still standing there, undoubtedly trying to work out how to pick up her jaw and exit with dignity, but everyone else had taken a step back. The music faded out, as if the track ended and the DJ had simply not remembered to cue another one. She figured, in for a penny, in for a pound. She smiled her brightest smile at Britney, then whispered into his ear.

"How pissed would you be if I told everyone you belong to me right now?"

She felt his smile against her neck and he whispered back.

"I think you just did."

She suddenly felt awkward. It was going well between them, but not claim-my-man well. He hadn't even said he loved her yet. Not that she was complaining. Love was going to be hard for him for some time, for many good reasons. But now she wondered if that dramatic move had been appropriate. Had she pushed too far?

Reluctantly they released each other, Lucifer turning to face the crowd with his most devilish grin before heading to the bar for a drink. She meant to go back to the table, but before she'd made it out of the dance floor she heard the piano, and then his voice.

_Tonight with you, for the first time_  
_I have learned what my lips are for_  
_And darling now that I've kissed you_  
_I am craving to kiss you more_  
_Let me tell you,_

_Long after tonight is all over_  
_Long after tonight is all gone_  
_I'll be yours,_  
_forever and a day I'm yours,_  
_come anything that may_  
_You'll always be just everything to me…_

She turned around to watch, spotted Linda and Ella fangirling in the corner, Amenadiel's knowing smile, Maze's internal eyeroll, and then just Lucifer.

And here she'd thought her move had been dramatic.

They kept their distance, for the most part, after that. Chloe and the girls had taken over their usual table, and Lucifer was still flitting around, ever the social butterfly. She couldn't help herself, her eyes kept seeking him out, as fascinated as everyone else. That song kept echoing in her head, no matter how loud the sound system was.

Slowly people started to leave. When it was just them and a handful of the more persistent Britneys, she made her way across the club to where he was. She had no idea what she was going to do when she got there, but she needed to be closer. As it turned out, he reached for her and pulled her into his side, his arms sliding around her waist as naturally as if they stood by the door sending off guests as a matter of routine on a typical Friday night. Or early Saturday morning, she supposed.

She relaxed into him, any concerns about what she might say or do entirely forgotten. He adjusted his arm, looked down at her briefly, then wondered why he was still talking to them when he had Chloe in his arms. He stopped hinting that perhaps it was time for them to go, called to Amenadiel to get the ladies an Uber, and walked away, taking Chloe with him. They sat with Linda and Ella for a few minutes, in the way of good friends reconnecting after a big party.

Eventually, even they were gone. The cleaning crew would be coming in soon. They made their way to the penthouse, and out into the balcony for a bit of air that didn't smell of jello shots and sweat. It felt surprisingly chilly, and the chill chased away the sleepiness that was starting to settle.

"That song has been stuck in my head all this time," she finally said. "That was… unexpected. Wonderful, but unexpected."

"As was that kiss," he agreed.

"I worried I might have pushed a bit too hard, after." She said, in the spirit of honesty. And trying to keep things light she added. "Plan A was even bolder."

"Was it? Do tell." He leaned over the balcony, looking towards the East, where the sun would soon be rising.

"For a moment I considered walking up, telling everyone that you were wanted upstairs for interrogation, and dragging you off in handcuffs."

"Bold indeed, Detective. Let's do that next time. Only don't use your cuffs, I have pink fuzzy ones, much more comfortable for being manhandled in."

"Did I?" She asked, after a short pause. "Push too far, I mean."

"No."

He pushed off from the balcony and turned her to face him.

"I haven't exactly been very clear, despite our deal, have I?" he started. "I've not been hiding, to be fair, just… uncertain. I hope that song eased your worries, but whether it did or it didn't…"

He shifted, reached for her hand and gently drew closer.

"I love you, Chloe Decker. You are entirely welcome to claim me as publicly as you like, any time it suits your fancy."

She snuggled into him, basking in the warmth of his body. Slowly, she slid her hands up towards his neck, dropped the gentlest of kisses on his jawline and then pulled back, mischief in her eyes as she asked.

"Anytime?"

She nibbled ever so softly on his neck.

"That is what I said," he agreed.

She pulled him inside, a chuckle left behind them as he followed.


End file.
